Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday dubbed the Union Budget for the financial year of 2022-23 a “zero sum budget” as he criticised the financial statement for lacking announcements for the working middle class. “M0di G0vernment’s Zer0 Sum Budget! Nothing for – Salaried class – Middle class – The poor & deprived – Youth – Farmers – MSMEs,” he wrote on Twitter.
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday presented the Union Budget of 39.45 trillion rupee ($529.7 billion) for the coming fiscal year, stepping up investment on highways and affordable housing to put growth on a firmer footing as the economy recovers from the pandemic.
The government has projected GDP growth at 8% to 8.5% compared with an estimated 9.2% for the current fiscal year and a 6.6% contraction the previous year.
The Union Budget delivered today in Parliament was the fourth presented by Sitharaman.
While the statement has been lauded by the leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), opposition parties have called it a “betrayal” to the middle class.
“India’s salaried class and middle class were hoping for relief in times of pandemic, all round pay cuts and back breaking inflation. FM and PM have again deeply disappointed them in Direct Tax measures,” Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala said on Twitter.
